


Of Pubs, Friendship and Love

by SDAMm



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bars and Pubs, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Books, Breakfast, Crushes, Dinner, Drunk Bucky Barnes, Explosions, First Kiss, Friendship, Gay Steve Rogers, Hangover, M/M, Mornings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past, Security Guard Steve, Sketches, Steve is a little sad, Strangers, To Be Continued, Wedding Invitation, but only shortly - Freeform, posing, professor bucky, sleeping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2020-05-02 05:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19192798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SDAMm/pseuds/SDAMm
Summary: Steve works as a security guard in a university where he gets to know a handsome stranger. Who seems to be new in the labs. They get to know each other and Steve starts to feel a deep - connection - to him.Then he saw him again, the stranger. He walked straight to the exit, probably he didn’t notice Steve. He was confirmed in that thought as the man nearly jumped when Steve spoke to him. “I’m afraid you’ll have to sign yourself out, Sir”“Oh, damn it, I always forget!”“I will try to not take this personally.” Steve laughed.“I… I do appreciate your effort.” He chuckled, and Steve tried to not feel the warmth rising in his stomach as the man flashed him a smile.“Well, I do my very best.” Steve sat down in his chair. The stranger looked at him and then at the book next to him on the table. “You are new here aren’t you?”





	1. Strangers

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying to finish this. I really do, I just don't have the time. But trust me I'll add a new chapter as soon as possible...  
> 31/3/20

 

 

* * *

 

Steve is a simple guy from Brooklyn. He is 27 years old, a 6’2” Adonis, with blonde hair and deep blue eyes and a lot of muscles. Basically, Steve is that one guy everybody has a crush on. But that wasn’t always the case, as you might know. After high school, he got his growth spurt but before that… His time in high school was – let’s say – less than pleasant. He had always been very thin and short. The exact opposite of what he is today. He got home with a black eye at least twice a week and his mother was, of course, nothing but troubled about all these fights. Steve was smart, like really, amazingly smart, but he was scrawny and that is, as you guys probably know, the best target for bullies. Steve did graduate though, and his marks were up to the standards of some good colleges, but he didn’t go. He couldn’t. His mom got sick and he had to get a job, he needed the money for her medicine. He started for this company: Marvel Security. They protected libraries, big factories and everything in between. Steve had the night shift at the labs of the Coulson University, not a very big place, which is why he was usually alone. The labs are all highly secured with Stark technology, so one man was enough for the rest of the building. After some time, his mother died. It wasn’t unexpected, so it didn’t hit him out of anywhere. Nevertheless, Steve missed her, a lot. She was everything he had left as family. He continued to work for Marvel Security after her death. He couldn’t afford college and he wasn’t completely unhappy with his job. Steve read in his shifts. He read hundreds of books. Ranging from “Oliver Twist” to Stephen Hawking’s “The Theory of Everything”. There weren’t many other things to do. A walk around the lab, occasionally a professor or student working late, but other than that, just his books. Well, that was until a couple of months ago.

 

* * *

 

Steve is sitting in his little security room. The clock on the wall behind him shows 3.22 am. The room is located at the exit of a big hall, the storage. The labs are behind the thick walls and doors, separating them from the expensive technology stored there. Steve’s room has big windows facing the hall so that he can see everything that is going on. Usually, there is only a small slot to interact with the people from the lab, but he opened the whole window. He always does. It provides fresh air, and usually, there isn’t anybody around at this time. Besides, he likes talking to those who are. Steve is sitting on his office chair, legs crossed and on the table. He is reading, chewing on his thumb a little, which he always does when he’s very concentrated. And he is because he doesn’t even notice the lights going on in the big hall. The book, “From Earth to Moon”, is just too consuming. Distant footsteps approach. Steve can hear them clear and loud in the big hall. They come closer and closer, and as they are about to walk past his office he speaks, not looking up from his book. “Sorry Sir, but you have to sign out.”

“Oh, right. I totally forgot.” The footsteps stop in front of the open window. Steve looks up. In front of himself he can see a tall man, about 6”, he is wearing a black coat, a little like the one BBC Sherlock wears. Underneath it a navy-blue button up shirt. Steve liked it. He looked at the man. The stranger had stormy grey eyes, and his hair was held together in a ponytail. He smiled at Steve, took the pen and signed out. He looked up at Steve and smiled. “It’s a good book, one of my favourites.”

Steve looked down at the book, up again and gave him a charming smile. “I like it a lot, reading it for the third time now, and it still amazes me.”

“Well, then I won’t disturb you any further.” He said and walked away.

“Have a good night!” Steve called after him.

“And I wish you a calm one.” The man said.

Steve looked after him until he disappeared around a corner and as he sat back down, he found himself hoping, that he’d see the man again. The night was indeed calm and, other than his hourly rounds, nothing disturbed his reading. Well, unless he’d count the two or three thoughts, that wandered back to this handsome stranger while he was reading.

  

* * *

 

 

Steve’s next shift in the labs was Friday night. He liked Fridays, most importantly, because the Saturdays are free. But also, because they were the quietest nights. The last professors usually went home around 7 and after that, he was left to himself. As Steve had entered the shift, he had a quarter of his book left to read, but now, about six and a half hours later, he was reading the last pages. Today, he immediately noticed when the lights in the hall lit up. That was because, first, the book had just ended, and second, because nobody was here anymore at 11.30 in the night. Then he saw him again, the stranger. He walked straight to the exit, probably he didn’t notice Steve. He was confirmed in that thought as the man nearly jumped when Steve spoke to him. “I’m afraid you’ll have to sign yourself out, Sir”

“Oh, damn it, I always forget!”

“I will try to not take this personally.” Steve laughed.

“I… I do appreciate your effort.” He chuckled, and Steve tried to not feel the warmth rising in his stomach as the man flashed him a smile.

“Well, I do my very best.” Steve sat down in his chair. The stranger looked at him and then at the book next to him on the table. “You are new here aren’t you?”

“How did you know?”

“Well, three easy points. First, I haven’t seen you around a lot. Second, you seem to always forget signing out. And third, nobody works until 11.30 on a Friday night.”

He laughed at the last remark. “Yeah, that’s probably true.”

“So, what are you studying?” Steve asked.

“Actually, I am a professor for astrophysics…”

“Wow, really? You don’t seem to be a lot older than I am, you must be some kinda genius?”

“I wouldn’t go that far but thanks.”

Steve stood up. “Steve Rogers,” he said and extend his hand.

“Professor James Buchanan Barnes. It’s nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine Steve returned and sat down.

“In which scene are you right now?”, he asked while pointing at it.

“Oh, I just finished actually.”

“That’s too bad. Did you bring another book?”

“I didn’t think that I’d be that fast, but that’s alright, the wall behind you is quite interesting.” Steve chuckled.

“Yeah, it does look nice to me. You could figure out the origin of those two little spots in the upper left corner.” He said laughing, “but I have a better idea. Wait a second.” The professor said and rummaged in his bag. Then he pulled out a book. The title read “A brief history of time”. It was one of Stephen Hawking’s books. “Try this one, it is really interesting and easy to read.”

“Thanks, and I thought I’d have to steal a book from one of the labs again.” He took the book from the man’s hand. “I really appreciate it.”

“It would be a shame if you died because you were poisoned on your quest for the origin of the mystery stains. Anyways, have a good night.”

“You too…” And with that, he had disappeared around the corner. Steve focused on the book in his hands. He hadn’t read it before, and the title seemed to be quite interesting. He sat down in his chair and crossed his legs on the table. The rest of his shift was over in no time.

 

* * *

 

 

Steve was laying on his couch, trying to convince himself to not already go to bed. He remembered something his friend Sam had said, about only being 27 years old and going out more often. So, he got up from the couch and went into his bedroom. He didn’t think long before he chose his outfit. Some pair of simple black jeans and a forest green button-up shirt. He took his leather jacket from the hook on the shelf. Steve shortly thought about taking his motorbike, but then he figured, if he’s going out, he might as well drink a little more. The pub he chose was only a few blocks from his place anyways.

Steve sat down on a stool at the side of the bar and ordered a beer. He looked around when he spotted the professor on a stool at the middle of the bar. A woman sat next to him. She was talking a lot and didn’t seem to notice his growing disinterest in her. He was leaning away from her, turning away and to the bar. But she didn’t notice, just kept on talking. Steve debated in his head, whether it would be a good idea to rescue him, or if he was just misinterpreting the scene, but before he could think about it again, he had ordered another beer and made his way over to the professor. Once he arrived, he put the beers on the bar in front of the other man, put a hand on his back and kissed his cheek. He sat down and said: “Hey James, I am sorry it took me so long, darling, the traffic was awful.” He turned around and smiled.

“Steven, there you are, I thought you forgot about me.”, he said laughing. As he turned back around, the woman excused herself and went to the opposite side of where Steve had sat, talking to the next man. “Thanks for the rescue man, I thought I’d be stuck with her the whole night.”

“You’re welcome, but I am sorry.”

“What for?!?”

“Well, now the whole pub thinks you are gay…”

“Oh, that’s alright. I didn’t mean to pick up anybody today, so I really don’t mind. But they will think the same about you now.”

“Well, I actually am gay.” Steve states and shrugs “And I also had no intention to pick up anybody. So we’re even…”

“Uh, and please, call me Bucky, only my mom called me James.”

“Yeah, and only mine used to call me Steven… So, Bucky, what were you doing before that girl annoyed you?”

“I had just arrived here. I haven’t even had time to order something. But thankfully, you have solved that problem already. I can really use that beer, now.”

“But Bucky, why didn’t you just tell her that you have a girlfriend or something like that, I am sure she would have disappeared sooner.”

“I wanted to, you know, but I never had a chance, she just kept on talking…” they laughed.

“Well, then I hope I am a better company than she is.”

“I don’t know, do you talk much?”

“Usually I don’t. We can just remain silent and share the time we speak equally.”

Bucky laughed. “Ok so, you rescued me, you are hot, not very chatty, still funny and you bought me a beer! You are already a hundred times better than she was.”

“Oh, I am flattered.” Steve chuckled and he secretly hoped that the man next to him did not see the blush on his face, that appeared after his compliment.

They sat next to each other for the rest of the night, talking, laughing, drinking. When it got late, they paid and went outside. Steve asked if Bucky lived far away because he didn’t know how long he could walk on his own. When Bucky pointed in the same direction Steve had to go, he convinced the professor that he would take him home. A few minutes later they stood in front of the door. Before Steve could go, Bucky pulled him into a hug. “You are a real gentleman, Steve. Thank you for saving me and for bringing me home. It was fun tonight.”

“You are welcome, Bucky. Have a good night.”

“Sleep well!”, he heard Bucky call after him. He turned around again and waved, then he waited until Bucky had entered the house, to make sure that nothing else happened. As he made his way home, he thought about the evening and hoped they’d repeat it some time. Steve indeed slept well that night. Happy to see Bucky again on Monday.


	2. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still looking for a good title...
> 
> have fun :-)

Steve didn’t want to admit it, but he was a little more than just “happy” to go to work. That might or might not have something to do with the hot professor he was currently crushing on. As per usual, most of the people had gone home and he had time to enjoy his book. He still read the book Bucky had given him and it was amazing. He will have to thank him again when he returned the book, Steve thought. He sat in his chair, his legs on the table as usual. He was about halfway through when he checked the clock. The lights in the big storage were out, but his little lamp on the table made enough light, so he could see everything that did not happen from his office.

The night was quiet, and he thought that Bucky might have headed home before he came because it was already past 9 and he hadn’t shown up in front of his window yet. He was a little sad, but thought, that it is probably just normal to go home before his shift starts at five. But Steve didn’t have to wait long until he got proven wrong. It was about quarter past ten when he heard a loud bang, like something exploded, in the labs. He shot up from his chair and ran towards the door that leads into the hall for the labs. The lights in the storage switched on immediately when he exited his office. Steve had to stop abruptly, to let his eyes adjust to the new brightness and then continued his way through the big room fast.

As he turned around the corner, he saw a huge amount of smoke coming out of a door on the right side of the hall. He ran towards the open door, that was in the middle of the long corridor. When he was a couple of steps away, somebody stumbled out of the lab, coughing hard. “Grab the fire extinguisher!!” The person yelled. Steve looked around and saw it on his left. He yanked it out of its bracket and stormed towards the door.

The room was so full of smoke so that he couldn’t even find the source at first. After a couple of seconds, Steve found the, incredibly small, fire and finally put it out. When he turned around, the smoke at the entrance had already cleared out a bit and he could see the person responsible for the trouble, who was, of course, nobody else than Professor Barnes. “Bucky! Are you alright, what happened?!” Steve asked, more than just worried.

“I’m okay, Steve. The experiment sorta blew up… I am sorry I caused you so much trouble.”

“Bucky, you’re shaking. Come on, you can just relax a bit in the office and then we can fix this mess later.” Steve took his hand and led him out of the room, back into the big storage. He looked back at Bucky while they were walking. He wore a nice grey button-up shirt, which was now stained with black stains. Bucky’s hair stood up a little. Steve thought about how someone could look that sexy, even after blowing up a lab, but then again, he was thinking about Professor Barnes, who seemed to kill every outfit. As they arrived in the small room, Steve sat Bucky down in his office chair and pulled a normal one up next to it. He sat down and sighed.

“Thanks for saving me, Steve!” Bucky looked up at him.

“Don’t mention it, but I would really appreciate it if you wouldn’t do it again. I had a heart attack.” He said laughing.

“You look more like people get a heart attack when they see you, Steve, not the other way around.” Steve blushed, but Bucky didn’t seem to have noticed it. Thankfully, he thought. “And I’ll try to not repeat the events of the last 20 minutes if possible. If I can…” Bucky laughed.

“Great!” Steve said relieved, “What are you doing here anyway? I thought everybody had gone home already.”

“Oh, you know me,” Bucky said smiling, “I wanted to complete the last experiment before going home, but well, I think I’ll have to start all over again tomorrow.”

“What was it about, your experiment?” Steve was curious now.

“The effect, that microwave radiation, about as strong as in space, has on organisms, like plants and small animals. But the machine exploded before the plant had the chance to.”

“Wow, that sounds really interesting. I would love to do such experiments…”

“Well, you know, I could need somebody to save me if something happens again. If you want to, we can do it together. But not before next Wednesday, I fear, I’ll have to order a new microwave first.”

“Really?! That would be awesome Buck!”

“You know, until then…”, he scratched his neck, “I still owe you a beer. Do you have time on Saturday?”

“Yeah, sure. I’d love to. The same pub as last time, at seven?”

“Seven sounds great. I’m looking forward to it. But I think I’ll grab my stuff now and head home. I could use a shower and some sleep.”

“Ok, do you need help?”

“Nah, I think I’ll be fine, but I can’t promise to not blow anything up on my way!”

With that, he stood up and walked to the door of the office. “Thanks again, Steve!”

“No problem, see you in five.”

Exactly five minutes later, the professor showed up in front of the open window and signed himself out. “Good night, Bucky,” Steve said smiling.

“You too, Steve. See you tomorrow.” And then he walked out of the big entrance. Steve sat back in his chair and made himself comfortable. He took his book and started reading where he had left an hour ago. He wasn’t that fast anymore. The night was still quiet, but his mind wandered back to Bucky and the explosion. Steve was happy when he fell into bed the next morning, to get the rest he needed after all the excitement of the last night.

 

* * *

 

Thursday was more stressful than usual. Many people were in the lab today, and they decided to always leave five minutes apart from each other so that Steve barely touched the book when the next person came to sign out. He was happy when the lights in the storage went out at 8. He wasn’t disturbed anymore for the next half hour, which was when a certain professor left work.

“I’m afraid Sir, you’ll have to sign out.” Steve laughed as Bucky made his way over to him.

“You know, since I know you, I never forget.”

“Well, I will take that personal now…”

“Great! At least I found a new friend at work. And I thought I’ll have to die in here alone, but apparently, some people work until that late too.” He smiled.

“You know Bucky, normal professors and students leave around five. Not 8, and that seems to be early for you if I consider our encounters in the last week.”

“True, true. But I just forget to check the clock from time to time.”

“You seem to forget a lot of things. I just hope you haven’t forgotten our night out on Saturday…”

“Of course not, how could I. I mean, I see you every day. But I wanted to talk to you about it anyway. It could be that I can’t quite make it on time…”

“Oh, no problem. I can give you my number and then you can just shoot me a text if you’re late.”

“Good idea. If I had known that getting phone numbers from hot guys is so easy, I would have tried that before.” Bucky laughed and Steve blushed, again. And this time Bucky probably noticed, because he stopped and just smiled at Steve, who blushed even more. Bucky gave him his phone, and Steve quickly typed in his number. They said their goodbyes and Steve returned to his book. But again, he couldn’t quite focus.

 

Steve’s phone vibrated. He wondered who it might be, most of the people are sleeping at this time of the day. He puts the book down onto the table and turns his phone on. He was surprised when he found out who wrote to him that late in the night.

 

* * *

 

 

**UNKNOWN NUMBER +1…**

_Hey Steve_

_It’s Bucky_

**STEVE**

_Hey Buck_

_Where are u_

 

* * *

 

 

Steve smiled. He immediately answered Bucky and added him to his contacts.

 

* * *

 

 

**BUCKY**

_In the subway_

_What’re u doin_

**STEVE**

_Not much_

_I think my reading lamp will die soon_

_It’s makin weird noises ‘n I don’t have another bulb_

**BUCKY**

_I hope it’s not goin to explode_ _😊_

_It’d be a weird coincidence_

**STEVE**

_I think I’ve had enough explosions for 1 day_

_Don’t u_

**BUCKY**

_True_

**STEVE**

_Fury’d kill me if I’d let his lamp explode_

**BUCKY**

_Who’s that Fury guy_

_N’ why does he wanna kill u_

**STEVE**

_He’s my boss…_

_I’ll take the bulb out now_

_If I don’t respond in a minute I exploded :-D_

**BUCKY**

_Don’t worry_

_I’d find a new friend_ _😉_

**STEVE**

_Thanx for the support pal_

 

* * *

 

Steve switched the flashlight on his phone on and the lamp off. He waited a minute or two and removed the lightbulb. He stood up and switched the lights in the office on. Then he returned to his chair and switched his phone on again.

 

* * *

 

**STEVE**

_Sry to disappoint u but I survived_ _😊_

**BUCKY**

_What a shame_

_Anyways_

_I’m lookin forward to Saturday_

**STEVE**

_Me too_

_As long as I won’t have to save u from weird girls again_ _😉_

**BUCKY**

_I certainly hope so_

_But I still owe you one for that_

_I gotta hop off now_

_See ya at 7_

**STEVE**

_See ya_

_Good night Buck_

**BUCKY**

_Night Steve_

 

* * *

 

Steve grinned from one ear to the other. He was super excited to go to that pub with Bucky. And that definitely wasn’t the case because his crush on the professor had grown even more after their last night out. Steve couldn’t wait to end his shift Saturday morning, but that was still a whole day…


	3. The pub

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I finally found a good title for my work
> 
> as always have fun reading and leave a comment for any suggestions, critiques or ideas and wishes for new stories

Steve has been sitting on his bed for half an hour now. His legs are crossed and he is staring into his open closet, looking at his shirts and trousers. It is half-past six and he is still wearing his briefs and socks. Steve is just a little too nervous to concentrate. He stands up and skims through his clothes. He picks two pairs of trousers, a normal black one and dark blue ripped jeans. He decides for the latter. He doesn’t wear them often, only when he goes clubbing with Sam actually, but they seem to fit the occasion. And now the shirt… He took out several but decided on a grey T-shirt. It was a simple V-neck, without print, he chose it because it might have quite a tight fit, but he doesn’t want to impress anyone now, does he…

He grabbed his wallet, his phone and his leather jacket and made his way to the pub. The evening was warmer than last week and debated whether to go upstairs again and leave his jacket at home. But a glance at his watch decided for him. If Steve wouldn’t go now, he’d be late, and he doesn’t want Bucky to wait. Just as he turns around the corner and is walking the last steps towards the pub, he gets a message.

 

* * *

 

 

**BUCKY**

_Hey_

_I’m not gonna make it in time_

_I’ll be there in five_

**STEVE**

_Ok_

_I just got inside_

_I’ll see ya then_

**BUCKY**

_Great_

_‘n I’m sorry to be late_

**STEVE**

_Don’t worry_

_U warned me Thursday, remember_

 

* * *

 

 

Steve walks inside. He glances around to spot a free table. He decides on the one in the corner of the room. It’s calm and he can see the entrance, he doesn’t want Bucky to search an eternity for him. The place is crowded, but not full. Most of the people are just enjoying a beer with colleagues. Just after he ordered beers for Bucky and him, a girl strolls over. She sits down on the chair next to him, without even asking. “I’m Clara,” she says and kisses his cheek, Steve is mildly annoyed.  Still being polite as ever, he says “Steve, if you wouldn’t mind Miss – “

She interrupts him and starts talking. Mainly about herself and how hot he is. Steve tries to tell her, that he isn’t interested in the company quite a few times, but either she doesn’t let him or just ignores it. He glances at his phone, it’s six minutes past seven. He hopes that Bucky arrives rather sooner than later.

As he looks up again, Bucky is just entering the pub. Steve waves him over as his head turns into the direction of their table. He can see the professor smiling, as he spots the young lady next to Steve, who shoots him a ‘please rescue me’ look. Bucky makes his way over to the corner. As he arrives, he walks around the table, ignoring the girl and kisses Steve, directly onto his mouth. Steve freezes. His mind couldn’t quite comprehend what happened, but a split second later, he kissed back. Bucky pulls away shortly after and it takes all of Steve’s strength to not chase his lips. “Hey honey, how was your day?”, Bucky says and settles down across the table. They look over to the girl at the same time. She looks shocked, stands up and leaves without another word. “Great, my day was great.”

They laugh, it takes them a full minute to calm down again. “Thanks for the rescue, pal.”

“Sure thing, I hope I didn’t take it too far.”

“Nah, it’s alright, but a warning would be great next time…” They laugh.

“Consider yourself warned for all rescues to come. Not going to let you down, whatever it takes.” He giggles.

“Don’t take it personally, but I do hope that rescuing won’t be necessary that often. Some of these girls are really annoying.”

“Oh, don’t tell me. Consider yourself a lucky man, that you didn’t know my ex. She was talking non-stop and always complained, that I am not interested in a conversation, because I didn’t talk.”

Steve’s heart cracked a little. His ex, she… What else did he think? Of course, that hot, cute and super amazing professor was straight. Why did he even hope? But that kiss… Steve was sure as hell, that this wasn’t the first time that man kissed a guy. Maybe… But whatever. Bucky had an ex-girlfriend and his chances to have anything more than friendship just vanished. He could at least try to make it a great one. His crush will probably just disappear sooner or later. At least, that he hoped.

 

“Steve? Steve?” Bucky asked.

“Oh, yeah sorry. I zoned out…” Steve snapped back to attention, burying his thoughts as deep as possible.

“No problem, I just asked what you did today.”

“Oh, uh. Nothing much really, I enjoyed my day off. And I finished your book. But I left it at home. You can get it back on Monday.”

“Or I just get it tonight.” Steve looked at Bucky. He thought he had just imagined that last part now. “If you don’t mind, of course.”

“No! Not at all. I just wondered, ‘cause my house is not quite on your way home. I mean you’d have to make a detour.”

“I know, but I figured I owe you one since you walked me home last time.” Steve blushed and prayed that Bucky didn’t see it.

“Sounds good to me.” Steve smiled and looked at Bucky. The professor was looking good in his T-shirt. It gave Steve a slight idea of what was underneath it. But he immediately pushed those thoughts away. Not now, not anymore.

They started talking about Bucky’s work. Steve loved sciences; he had loved them in school already. Which was, in retrospective, probably also a reason for the constant bullying. Bucky was impressed by the knowledge, that Steve had gained through his reading. He didn’t know, that the security guard was that clever. He never thought that he wouldn’t be smart, but he was impressed by all the familiarity the man showed with topics like nuclear physics or astronomy.

They talked for a good two hours when Bucky suggested they should exchange the beer with something stronger. But Steve wouldn’t complain either. Bucky ordered four shots of tequila. They downed the first one. Steve started to feel all the beer and the shot kick in. He knew he was tipsy and therefore suggested to head home after the next tequila. Bucky agreed, but neither of them downed the second one.

Five minutes later, Bucky had paid their bill, they were walking down the street. Slowly heading towards Steve’s apartment.


	4. The paintings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, the update took so long. I'll try to finish the next chapters as soon as possible.

Steve unlocked his door. They strolled into his flat on the second floor. Steve took off his jacket and helped Bucky out of his. “Aw, such a gentleman,” Bucky said as Steve turned around to put their jackets away. He blushed and chuckled.

Steve turned around and smiled. “Follow me, please.” He walked through the hall that led into his rather big living room. “Do you want anything else to drink?”

“I’ll have a beer if you have one left,” Bucky said and smiled. Steve took off into the adjacent kitchen without another word.

He returned moments later with two beers in his hand. He handed one to Bucky and gestured towards his couch. “Why don’t you have a seat, while I grab your book.” Steve put his beer down on the coffee table and disappeared. Bucky looked after him as he sat down. When Steve had vanished in the dark, he turned to look around the room. It had some big windows from which you could see the lights of the city. He admired the view for a moment before he continued to scan the area, while he heard Steve rummaging around in the other room.

Bucky saw the paintings that were hanging all around the place. Actually, rather sketches than real paintings. Only very few were coloured. The professor had never seen such paintings before, not in a gallery, a flea market or at Ikea. He saw a sketch of the Chrysler Building, a beautiful sunset with amazing colours, a bustling street and a skyline at night, which on closer look, must be the view from the window he just admired. They hang on the walls among other amazing sketches.

Bucky heard Steve entering the room again. “Did you paint these?” he asked as he turned around to look at Steve, who was about to sit down next to him. Bucky pointed at the walls.

“Yeah, do you like them?” Steve asked and took his beer from the table.

“Are you kidding???? They are amazing, how can somebody be sooo talented?” He looked at Steve in awe.

“Thanks, but they are also just sketches, I’m no Picasso.” Steve chuckled. “Anyways, here is your book, it was really interesting.”

Bucky took it from Steve’s hands and put it down on the table. “I mean honestly, what are you? You are smart, charming, good-looking, a gentleman and now you can also paint?! Are you like Captain America?” Steve looked at him and chuckled.

“I don’t think I am, no.”

“And more importantly, how on earth are you still single?”

Steve blushed. He looked down to his feet and ruffled a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, I guess most guys are just scared off by my shift times.”

“That’s a stuuuupid excuse in ma opinion.” Bucky slurred.

“Are you drunk Bucky?” Steve laughed a little.

“Maybe a little, but that has no impact on ma judgement of your awesomeness!”

“Yeah, sure pal.” Steve rubbed his back a little.

“Not nice!” Bucky exclaimed and threw Steve a hurt puppy-dog-eyed look. The latter just chuckled again, and Bucky joined him. “But honestly, sober or not, your sketches are amazing. I used to have an ex, who could draw too, but not that good.”

“Oh, really?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, but usually only modern art. Really strange stuff and some portraits from time to time. We always had to go to strange art exhibitions to admire the newest paintings. But other than the painting, he was a dick. Quite literally, in fact. His name was Richard.”

“That’s a shame, was he rude or what?” Steve wasn’t quite sure how he felt about Bucky’s statement. He was undeniably thrilled, but on the downside, he wondered who could hurt somebody like Bucky. Somebody so amazing.

“Yeah, he was selfish, and never seemed to care about me other than to show off his and I quote ‘super-smartass boyfriend he could have sex with whenever he wants to.’ He got upset fast and when he slapped me in the middle of a stupid fight, I left him for good.”

“I am so sorry Buck,” Steve said and took his hand. Bucky looked up and smiled at him.

Bucky placed his other hand on Steve’s and squeezed it. “Don’t be, it’s definitely not your fault.”

“But be assured, not all guys are dicks!” Steve said and Bucky smirked.

“I know Stevie.” He seemed to be tired.

“You know, if you want to, you can stay here. You don’t have to walk home.”

“Really,” his eyes lit up shortly, “ ‘cause I’m sooooo tired.” “And maybe a teeny, tiny bit drunk,” Bucky added a second later.

“Okay, you can have my bed, I’ll sleep on the couch. Let me just brush my teeth and get ready.” Steve said without hesitation.

“No way. Your couch is really comfortable, I am not going to claim YOUR bed.” He pushed a finger into Steve’s chest. The blonde chuckled and pushed a lock away, that had fallen onto his face during the gesture.

“Okay. Why don’t you lie down already, and I’ll get changed and bring you a pillow.” Bucky nodded and stretched out on the couch. “You can use this blanket,” Steve added and handed him the blue cover. Bucky smiled gratefully and wrapped himself into it.  Steve took off to his bathroom. As he reached the hall, he turned around again and smiled.

Steve returned five minutes later. He was now in his boxers and had a pillow in front of his stomach. As he walked around the couch to hand Bucky his pillow, he heard snoring. He saw the other man cuddled up in the blanket, slowly breathing. Steve chuckled calmly.

Then he put down the pillow at the foot end of the couch and took the bottles from the table to the kitchen. After putting them away, he tugged at the blanket carefully and put it down next to the pillow. Steve scooped the smaller man up and carried him into his bedroom, cautious not to wake him. He laid Bucky onto his bed and covered him with the blanket, in which the other man happily snuggled into.

Steve switched off the lights and returned to the living room, where he took the pillow and the blanket and made himself comfortable. He switched off the small light that burned next to the couch and sighed exhaustedly. Steve closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.


	5. The morning after

His head hurt. A lot. Bucky slowly woke up, cuddling himself into the warmth of his bed. He didn’t want to wake up. It was probably way too early anyway. Reluctantly he opened his eyes, at least the headaches didn’t get worse. But this wasn’t his bedroom. This wasn’t his bed.

He looked around, trying to remember where he was, what he did last night. It slowly came back. Bucky checked the bed, to find that he was the only one who must have slept on it that night. He must have stayed at Steve’s place after all. Slowly, he sat up, walked through the brightly lit hall. It must be later than he expected.

Then he heard a noise in a room in front of him, the kitchen if he remembered correctly. The noise was chased by a smell, the smell of coffee, eggs and bacon. Bucky took a deep breath and stepped into the kitchen. He saw Steve standing in front of the stove, wearing nothing but his boxers and a big T-shirt. Bucky’s gaze lingered on him, trying to process everything that happened since he woke up.

“Morning,” Steve said as he turned around to looked at Bucky. He had two full plates in his hand, which he pressed into Buckys. The man seemed to be a little confused, he was probably not completely awake yet.

“Could you bring those to the table in the living room, please. I’ll be there in a minute.” Steve smiled at him.

Bucky finally snapped to attention. “Yeah, sure. Good morning, Steve.”

“Morning, Bucky.” Steve chuckled and left the kitchen. Bucky looked down at the plates in his hand and made his way into the living room, setting them down on the small table next to the big windows. He sat down and rubbed his eyes.

As he looked up again Steve entered the room, now wearing a pair of sweatpants. He had two huge cups in his hand, placing one in front of Bucky. Then he sat down in front of the other plate. “Are you ok? You seem a little… absent.” Steve asked with his soft voice.

“Yeah, sure. Just not completely awake and trying to process everything since we got here last night.” Bucky said and took a sip from his coffee. Steve laughed a little.

“Alright, well, enjoy your breakfast. I figured we might need some.”

They ate in silence for about five minutes. Steve had made enough to feed a whole family.

“I must have had a lot more to drink than I thought,” Bucky said breaking the silence. They laughed.

“Well, to be honest, you aren’t the only one.” Steve smiled at him again. “But do you really not remember anything after we came here?”

“I do. It’s coming back slowly. We talked about your sketches, right?” Bucky paused and closed his eyes. “Oh no, did I really tell you about my ex-boyfriend? I am so sorry, I don’t usually… give away those stories so… soon.” He rubbed his hand against his temples.

“No, no, it’s alright. I mean you clearly needed to talk about it to somebody. And I really don’t mind being that person.”

“I don’t know how to thank you for this. All of this. Even the food is just super amazing.” Steve blushed again. It wasn’t that nobody had ever complimented his food before, but yet here he was, blushing like a teenager.

“By the way, I also do portraits. From time to time.” Steve took his phone, which had previously lain next to him and opened the camera. He made a quick picture of Bucky and switched it off again.

“What was that?” Bucky asked, utterly confused about Steve’s actions.

The blonde smirked and said: “You’ll see.” Bucky just shook his head and returned to the food in front of him.

“And you are sure that you’re not Captain America from those movies. I mean –“, he gestured up and down Steve’s body, “you know, and the cooking and painting…”

“Yeah Buck, I am very sure that I do not have a secret life as a superhero.”

“But you do look similar to that Chris Evans guy, who plays him,” Bucky stated before he ate the last bit of bacon on his plate. Steve’s blushed crept up his cheeks again. He really, really hoped that Bucky was too occupied with his food to notice.

Bucky drank the last bit of his coffee. His headache was still very present, and he was just tired. The professor silently swore to never drink again as he rubbed his temples. “You know, Steve. I do remember one last thing about last night.”

“Really?”

“Didn’t I tell you that your couch was comfortable enough and I’d be totally fine sleeping there before you went to the bathroom? How come I woke up in your bed?” The question didn’t even sound like some sort of inquiry, he just seemed to be genuinely confused if he might have changed his mind and didn’t remember,

“Yes, you did say that, but I also know my couch and how awful it is to spend a night on it. I had a feeling yesterday that you might be hungover in the morning and figured it would be nice to wake up somewhere cosier. I hope I didn’t overstep any boundaries, becau-“

“No, of course, you didn’t, Steve!”, Bucky cut him off, “it’s the nicest thing anybody has done for me in a while. And I- fuck!” Bucky stood up hectically and grabbed his phone.

“What’s wrong?!” Steve asked worried, did he do something wrong? He probably did overstep his boundaries after all. Shit!

“It’s half-past eleven already! My sister was gonna visit me at 1, which basically means half an hour earlier, and I really need a shower and fresh clothes and clean the apartment a bit.” Bucky rambled as he stumbled towards the door.

“Oh alright,” Steve walked behind him, ”here’s your jacket.”

“Fuck, where did I leave my damn wallet again?!” Bucky spun around frantically when Steve laid a hand on his shoulder and turned him back around.

“It’s already in the left pocket of your jacket. You left it on the table yesterday and it stuffed it in there before I went to bed.” Steve said calmly. Bucky took a deep breath

“Thanks. I’ll see ya on Monday.” He replied as he walked into the stairwell.

“See ya, Bucky.” Steve waved shortly, while he watched the older man running down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this one wasn't too boring or something like that, but I do promise that the next chapter will be longer and with a little more actual plot in it. So stick with me and don't lose faith.


	6. Pasta and Pencils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another evening and some surpises

His sister’s visit did go quite well after all. Of course, she asked him, if he had finally found somebody, but he blocked all her questions by switching the topic. He knew that she noticed his behaviour and was rather happy, that she had decided to stop asking about it after some time. Yet, he was glad when she left, as his headaches had just gotten worse.

He sat down on his couch with a big mug of tea, shuffling around on the couch until he was comfortable. He switched on the TV and relaxed. It’s been an eternity since the last time he had a moment for himself. Bucky looked down at his coffee table, where the book, he had wanted to give to Steve was still lying. It was another one of his favourites and he had figured Steve might like it. He always forgot about it.

He grabbed his phone, which was fully charged by now and opened WhatsApp.

**BUCKY**

_Hey, how you doin?_

**STEVE**

_Great._

_How did your sister’s visit go?_

**BUCKY**

_Good. She wasn’t too annoying_ _😉_

_Oh, before I forget…_

_I still have this book lying around and thought you might want to read it…_

_What do you say, you come over tonight and I’ll give it to you?_

Bucky was a little nervous after he had sent the text. They had just spent the evening together. Would Steve want to spend the next one too? Was he too fast? It didn’t help his nerves either, that Steve didn’t answer for another two minutes.

**STEVE**

_Sorry for the delay, old Ms Carter needed help with her groceries…_

_Sure, I’d love to come over tonight, around 7?_

**BUCKY**

_7 sounds good._

_I’ll take care of the food and the beer…_

**STEVE**

_Alright, see ya tonight_ _😊_

Bucky was more than excited. He jumped up and walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge to check how much beer he had left. Sadly, his afternoon on the couch would need to be cancelled in favour of some basic grocery shopping, including new beer. He went back to the couch to switch off the TV and then made his way to the hall, grabbing his keys and wallet from the cupboard on his way.

The store was just a couple of minutes away. Just before he reached it, someone called his name. He whirled around to find Bruce and his fiancée Natasha a couple of steps behind him.

“Bruce,” he called, “how’s it going?”

“Great, great. How are you doing?” They walked the last steps towards Bucky.

“I’m good, thanks. Where are you guys headed?” Bucky asked because he didn’t know what else to talk about. He wasn’t that great in social encounters. He was a physicist after all. He was allowed to be socially awkward…

“To the florist at the corner, talking about the last details for Saturday,” Natasha answered.

Damn it, Bucky thought. He had forgotten that the wedding was already next Saturday. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go. He was just not very excited to spend a whole evening there. It’ll be exhausting.

“Nat, we gotta go. The appointment is in 5 minutes, honey,” Bruce said, then he turned to Bucky and continued, “See you soon, Bucky.” He gave a little wave as they walked away. Bucky watched them go for a couple of seconds and then turned towards the store. Just before he ran into the doors, he stopped. Why didn’t they open, were they broken? He looked inside and then it hit him. Today’s Sunday. The store isn’t open.

How did Ms Carter get her groceries, he wondered. Bucky turned back around and started to walk back to his apartment. Then he saw an advertisement, posted on one of the streetlights. A mall downtown had apparently open today. Bucky thought about it for a minute. In the end, the memory of the insides of his fridge won. He really needed to stop forgetting grocery shopping, one day, he was gonna starve.

God, he hated malls. They were loud and full and smelled. He was just heading out again, a bag in each arm when he walked past a florist. Suddenly, he remembered what else was connected to Nat and Bruce’s wedding. Back when the invitations came, he had put down a plus one. It had been great between him and his ex, and he was sure that they’d be going together. Then things between them got ugly, and after the break-up, Bucky hadn’t thought about cancelling the plus one. There was other stuff to worry about.

When he got home, he wanted to call his sister, to ask if she was willing to go to the wedding with him. Just as Bucky pulled out his phone, he remembered something about a birthday party she was attending next Saturday. She had talked about it when she had visited earlier. He ran a hand through his hair. Great, this day was going great!

Bucky checked the clock. It was nearly six already. He threw on his _Kiss the Chef_ apron and started to prepare the pasta for later. While it cooked, he thought about changing, but a glance to the clock made the decision for him. He turned back to the stove and stirred the sauce.

There was a knock at his door. “On my way,” he called from the kitchen and made his way over. It was probably Tony, his neighbour, wanting him to try one of his new inventions. That happened quite often, as strange as it might sound. He opened the door, and before he could say anything, the person at the door planted a kiss on his cheek. He had forgotten about his apron, but that was definitely not Tony on the other side. He would have probably turned this into a full make-out session at the door.

“Hey Bucky,” a deep voice said. Only now, Bucky finally looked up, to see who the other man was.

“Steve?!”, he exclaimed. “How did you get up here, I didn’t let you in.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Buck. A _Tony_ let me in after asking who I was trying to find. He told me to tell you, that you are a ‘lucky bastard’.” Steve said, even making air quotes.

Bucky chuckled. “Yeah, that was definitely Tony, he lives next door. Please, come in. It’s great to see you too, Steve.”, he said while stepping aside to let him in.

“Wow, it smells great here Bucky,” he said while taking off his jacket.

“It’s Pasta, I hope you eat that, cause I haven’t prepared anything else,” Bucky said laughing.

“No, yes, uh, Pasta sounds great,” Steve replied.

“Okay, why don’t you sit down already, I’ll be with you in a sec,” Bucky said, showing him into the living room. Then he turned back around, took off the apron and prepared the plates. A minute later, he returned, balancing the two plates and two beers.

“Need help?” Steve asked with a concerned look.

“Nope, I’m good. I earned money as a waiter when I studied,” Bucky replied while placing the plate in front of Steve. Then he sat down on the other side, opened the beers and passed the first one to Steve. Bucky happily dug into his pasta and was pleasantly surprised, that it actually turned out eatable.

“Wow, this is really good,” Steve said, looking up at Bucky, who grinned back.

“Thanks, but your eggs this morning were also really great,” he replied. The rest of the dinner went by with nice conversations and a lot of laughing. Bucky learned many new things about Steve. After the dishes were rinsed and placed in the dishwasher, they went to sit on Bucky’s couch. Before Steve sat down though, he seemed to remember something.

“Wait a second,” he said and left Bucky alone in the living room. He wondered what the blonde was up to, but got a pretty good idea when he returned with some pencils and a notepad. “I promised that I’d sketch you some time,” he said excitedly, “and I thought, I might as well bring my stuff and do it right now.”

“Okay, what do I have to do?” Bucky asked confused, but he was just as excited as Steve. Nobody had ever drawn him.

“Oh, uh,” he looked around the room. He pointed at one of the chairs, “sit there and find a pose you’re comfortable with.” Bucky stood up and crossed the small distance. He sat down, a corner of the seating area between his legs, then he looked at Steve, a little confused.

“What do I do with my arms?”

Steve chuckled. He stood up to and took Bucky’s right hand. He placed it on the corner between his legs, then he took the other arm and put it on the backrest of the chair. Steve took a final look at the pose and then returned to his seat on the couch. “Is that alright,” he asked, looking at Bucky again.

“Yeah sure,” he nodded, “now impress me,” Bucky said, chuckling. “Wait, what do I do with my face???”

Steve stood up again and placed another kiss on his cheek. Bucky smiled at the contact. He hoped that Steve didn’t notice his flushed cheeks. Then he looked at Steve, his eyes displaying his confusion. Steve sat down and said, “just keep that smile.”

After about twenty minutes, Steve had finished his extraordinary drawing. Bucky had immediately placed it on the wall next to his fridge, where he kept all his great memories, captured in pictures, cards and now also a sketch. They both stood in the kitchen to admire Steve’s work. Bucky’s head leaned against Steve’s shoulder and Steve had placed an arm around his waist.

“It’s beautiful,” Bucky said.

“Thank you,” Steve replied quietly. They remained like this for another minute. Then, the timer on Bucky’s phone started ringing.

Bucky jumped a little. Then he turned around and happily exclaimed, “Oh, the muffins are ready.”

“Muffins?” Steve asked, eyes lighting up at the thought.

“Yep,” Bucky nodded while pulling them out of the oven, “Blueberry. I hope you like blueberries.”

“Are you kidding, blueberry muffins are my favourite.” He wanted to grab them off the plate, but Bucky pushed his hand away.

“Are you insane, they literally just came out of the oven!”

“Sorry,” Steve replied laughing.

“Just give them a couple of minutes,” Bucky said, guiding Steve out of the kitchen. “I have to ask you something.”

“What?” Steve asked, sitting down in the corner of the couch.

Bucky sat down next to him, their thighs brushing. It sent shivers through his body. Pull yourself together, Barnes, he thought.

“So, do you know Bruce and Natasha, they also work at the labs.”

“Yeah,” Steve replied,” I’ve spoken to them a couple o’ times.”

“So,” Bucky scratched the back of his neck. This is really strange, “I am invited to their wedding next Saturday, and uh, I put down a plus one, because when the invitations came, I was pretty sure I and my ex would be going, but yeah, that didn’t work out, but I forgot to cancel the extra seat, and my sister has other things to do and –“ He knew he was rambling. Bucky took a deep breath and started talking again, “Okay, I completely understand if you say no, but I kinda need somebody to join me, and I had thought, well, maybe I’d ask you. Only if you’re free next Saturday, of course.”

Steve took one of Bucky’s hands because the man looked really nervous. “You’re asking me to be your plus one on their wedding?”

Bucky nodded, “I know weddings can be awkward and stuff, so if –“

“I’d love to come, Bucky,” Steve cut him off.

“Really?!?” Bucky looked at him, with a good mixture of relief and happiness, “ Thank you sooo much, Steve!”

Steve chuckled but suddenly, Bucky grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. He kissed Steve without a warning. He froze, but only a fraction of a second later, Steve kissed back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update...  
> Stay tuned, I hope the next chapter will be ready in a few weeks.


End file.
